Having started for Baylor School’s varsity basketball team since he was in the eighth grade, Zane Restelli made the most of his final shot at McCallie on his home court Friday night.
The senior point guard and the other four Red Raiders on the floor at the time checked out of the game between Chattanooga rivals with the hosts holding a 23-point lead and more than a minute left to play at Duke Arena.
Despite picking up his fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, Restelli locked back in on the bench before coming in and scoring seven straight points to help seal a 73-53 victory in which he supplied 23 points, six assists, six rebounds, a trio of 3-pointers and a blocked shot. The win was the seventh straight for the Red Raiders in their all-time series with the Blue Tornado, who will host a rematch between the TSSAA Division II-AA East Region programs on Jan. 31.
“I really took this game in all day today,” said Restelli, who was a force driving against the Blue Tornado’s full-court press. “This is my last year and my last Baylor-McCallie game on this court. This is an amazing experience. Our guys came together and played as a team. This is the result and what happens when we all play tough together.”
Helping spark the Red Raiders’ rout was junior guard Mantas Paldauskas, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half. That included knocking down a behind-the-back pass from Restelli in transition at the top of the key to build a 24-11 lead early in the second quarter.